What do you want your local councillors to fight for?

Alan Mathison is standing as Brent Green Party candidate in the Kenton By-election. This Channel 4 Political Slot makes the case for Green councillors.

Alan will fight for our local services in Kenton by-election

Alan Mathison, our Kenton by-election candidate

Brent Green Party has selected Alan Mathison to fight the Kenton by-election. Alan, now retired, has spent most of his working life in universities and housing management. He has been a governor of three schools. He stood for the Greens in Kenton in last year's local election and received substantial support.

Alan said:

"The Green Party is the only party nationally who are questioning the whole strategy of deficit reduction through cuts. Locally the Labour Party are implementing the cuts imposed by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition and failing to protect the most vulnerable in the process. We are opposed to these cuts and are actively supporting Brent Fightback's efforts at coordinating opposition across sectors and involving both trades unions and users of public services.

Nationally we favour increased taxation of the very rich and heavy taxes on bank profits and bonuses. We want investment in the creation of socially useful green jobs through the provision of training opportunities and projects that would provide insulation for all homes, low-cost sustainable housing and public transport, and renewable energy production. Translated into local action this would help provide jobs at a time of rapidly rising unemployment."

Alan is scathing about his opponents in the by-election:

"The Labour Party's assurance that it would protect the most vulnerable from cuts has proved hollow. The Brent Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have the colossal cheek to start campaigning against the cuts locally when it is their government that has demanded them.

All three parties voted for the £100m over the top Civic Centre vanity project which is a slap in the face for local people when they see their services being slashed and charges raised. If we want all our libraries kept open and this means not building the Civic Centre, well so be it. Let's not build it!"

Reflecting on Kenton, where he moved eleven years ago, Alan said:

"I enjoy living in Kenton, it is a great place to live, but looking around you can see that it has been neglected by Brent Council. If elected my priorities would be to tackle Kenton's flooding problems, find ways of relocating the John Billam children's playground to a safer and more accessible site, seek to end the traffic chaos on Drayton Avenue and put an end to the dangerous speeding on Woodcock Hill. Kenton would be a much safer and pleasanter place to live if these issues were tackled."

Work starts on new £100m Civic Centre as vital services are slashed

Join the Great Debate on Thursday

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Green Party Oppose Phone Mast

Brent Green Party have submitted the following to the Planning Inspectorate in response to Vodafone's appeal against Brent Council's decision to refuse permission for erection of a mast at the junction of West Hill and The Avenue, Wembley.

We oppose the application on the following grounds:

1. IMPACT ON LOCAL ENVIRONMENT - The mast and accompanying street furniture will be intrusive in an area of historical and landscape importance in the development of 'Metroland' and unlike the
masts at Salmon Street/Fryent Way, NW9 in the same area will be visible from local housing. They will make a detrimental impact on a well used recreational green space. We are also concerned about the impact of the magnetic field from the mast on this important local habitat
2. ENHANCING OPEN SPACES - We support Brent Council's policy of improving open spaces in terms of both amenity and biodiversity. The erection of a mast would be contrary to this policy.
2. ALTERNATIVES Vodafone appear to have made no effort to ascertain whether alternative sites with less impact are available.